Chapter 9: Shadow in the Mist

Begin.

"Interesting, Phantom Lord actually began a war against Fairy Tail." Naruto whispered to himself as he watched three Fairy Tail mages bolted on a tree from a lacrima. He put seals all around Magnolia during his spy mission with Fairy Tail, that allowed him to see them through his lacrima.

He chuckled when he saw Makarov explode in anger like a year ago, but his smile changed into a thin line when he saw Erza. He expected her to be furious or at least have a frightened look, but instead she stared at her own guild members with a stoic expression. "Well my dear Scarlet-chan is becoming cold hearted too, should make sure to watch carefully from now on."

Naruto walked through a random town as he took in the scenery. Some drunk people in mid daylight, some very suggestive prostitutes, and some shady looking men with large trench cloaks. He sighed in annoyance when he found the reason he even came here for.

"Jiraiya..." Naruto said with an annoyed look. Jiraiya was passed out drunk in an alleyway, with only a pair of white underwear. Naruto walked up to him before he backhanded him across his face. Jiraiya quickly than jumped up from the surprising slap. He looked around till he found his "loyal" employer.

"What the hell brat!?" Jiraiya asked as he glared at the man who destroyed his village and killed his sensei.

"I was just trying to wake you up Ero-sennin." Naruto said with a yawn. He then pointed down toward Jiraiya. "So... Got drunk again with two women you paid and once you were unconscious from too much to drink; they took your clothes and went to pawn it off for some food for their children or something like that?" Naruto asked acting like this wasn't the first time he seen Jiraiya like this.

"No, it was three women this time." Jiraiya said as he stared at his own state of attire. He wasn't that surprised it happened since this happened multiple time before. Hell, this was second time this week.

Naruto sighed as he summoned a cloak from his pocket dimension and threw it at Jiraiya. Jiraiya smiled at his employer's gesture and wrapped the cloak around himself.

"Fucking drunk... Why do I even keep you around again?" Naruto questioned Jiraiya. Jiraiya laughed at this as he gave his answer.

"Because I'm the man who spared your life after destroying my sweet ole village." Jiraiya said with a cocky grin.

"Don't give me that crap again, you're as happy as me for destroying that village." Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "You were tired of being Hiruzen's personal bitch."

"Don't say it like that, that man took me in after my parents died and taught me everything I know." Jiraiya said with a mock hurt look.

"He made you his personal weapon and barely paid you anything for your hard work." Naruto replied to his claim.

"You both pay me the same amount per job!"

"I give you benefits!" Naruto yelled out, before bring his hand up to his face. He sighed in annoyance as he remembered why he was here for. "Anyway, back to the reason I came looking for you."

"Did you investigate Oracion Seis like I asked?" Naruto asked with a more serious demeanor. Jiraiya also became more serious as he put his hand on a seal he had on his right forearm. A small purple circle appeared on his forearm as he pulled out a black folder.

"You would have been forced to become a male prostitute if you didn't know Body Storage Magic to seal away your money and other important stuff." Naruto jokingly said as he grabbed the black folder Jiraiya summoned. Jiraiya gave a fake laughter as he heard Naruto's joke. "Still wonder why you never seal clothes though..."

"So these are the mages of Oracion Seis huh, that chick who is into the angel-like cosplay is kinda cute." Naruto said as he ignored the other mages and looked through the many photos Jiraiya somehow got on Angel.

"Hehe I know." Jiraiya said with a perverted giggle. Naruto ignored the perverted old man as his eyes left Angel's many pictures and looked at the information Jiraiya got on Brain. He looked bored as he skimmed through the information as one specific information caught his eye.

"Orochimaru... Isn't that the guy who studied under the lady who cursed me?" Naruto asked Jiraiya, who gave a serious nod.

"Yea, he was my teammate in the team Hiruzen formed and Orochimaru also studied under the Silver-thread Witch before she lost her sanity." Jiraiya said with a serious look. Naruto gave Jiraiya a side glance as his eyes returned to Brain's information. Him serving under Orochimaru and being involved with the Bureau of Magical Development, really made him feel indifferent. One thought popped up to his mind as he quickly turned toward Jiraiya.

"Tell me Jiraiya, did Orochimaru have any information on the prize possession of the now extinct Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan?" Naruto questioned Jiraiya.

"Ah, oh I really have no idea. It was hard to find information on him while he was in his secret hideouts and now that he and most of his followers are dead, mostly no one has information of what he used to do."

"Hm..." Naruto continued to ponder the thoughts about Brain having knowledge of the Sharingan before him. Naruto took a thinking pose as he thoughts of his next actions toward Brain, since he didn't trust him in the slightest.

''Does he know of my eyes?'

(Erza)

'He would have no trouble dealing with Phantom Lord on his own, so I should be able to.' Erza thought as her eyes stayed glued on the entrance to Phantom Lord guild. She needed some strong opponents to gain more power to get closer to Naruto's level and the guild second to Fairy Tail in strength was a good choice. She clenched her fist tight and savored the idea of both the iron dragon slayer and the Element 4 being stepping stones toward her true goal of power to defeat Naruto.

"Natsu I want you to give them the message that we arrived." Makarov told Natsu, who smirked as he lit his hands on fire. He was going to smash through the front entrance until Erza stepped in front of him. She stared darkly at the front entrance before a light covered her. Once the light died down, she was in her Nexus Armor as she pulled the hilt out.

"Erza..." Makarov voiced out as he stared at the back of Erza. She began walking forward as she swiped her hand sideways, somehow causing the front door to be split to pieces.

"Do not get in my way..." Erza's said coldly toward her guildmates as she ran into Phantom Lord, completely destroying anyone who stood in her way. Makarov and the others watched in shock at what they were seeing; a side of Erza they never thought they would ever see.

(Erza)

"Hey, look like some weak fairies came here to give us a visit." one shady looking mage told his guildmate. The other gave Erza a lustful gaze as he walked toward them with a stoic expression.

"And Fairy Tail's Titania is here as well..." He licked his lips as he stared her up and down. Erza calmly stopped in front of everyone as she stared at the members of the prestiged Phantom Lord guild.

"You brought harm to members of my guild and now I will give you all the repercussions." Erza sternly said before swiping her hand sideways. They looked amused by the response from her before they hit by an invisible force, sending them flying. Erza then ran toward the closest mage before cutting him down with an unseen attack.

"Bitch!" a mage with a giant axe screamed out as he ran behind Erza, preparing to ambush Erza. Ge didn't go far as he fell forward when he was hit behind the knees by an unseen blade. She grabbed him by the face and used him as a shield when a lightning bolt was directed toward her. The human shield screamed in pain, but Erza could care less about her shields wellbeing. She threw him toward the closest mage before sending a barrage of strikes toward a group that gathered.

"Veiled Blade Dance."

She swiped her blade before glaring at the group. Their eyes stared at the sky and mouth wide opened, before dropping down to the floor. She glared at them in anger, for not helping her in her goal. She turned to another group of mages as she slowly stalked toward her new preys.

(Fairy Tail group)

Makarov sternly glared at Erza, thinking about that day a year ago. He could see the looming darkness of Erza leading her. down a darker path. He worried about her since she returned from her last encounter with Naruto. The Fairy Tail master turned to the distracted mages who were too busy staring at Erza. "I want all of you to help Erza take care of these lowly mages while I have a word with Jose."

They got out of their stupor and nodded at Makarov's request. Makarov smiled at them as he dodged some mages flying toward him as he headed up toward Jose Porla. Natsu smirked as he stared at how Erza was easily taken care of some mages. He roared out fire as he hit some mages as he declared himself to the battle.

"Like hell I'm going to let Erza have all the fun!" Natsu ran into the guild as he punched some mages. Grey gave his own smirk as he froze a mage who was going to strike Natsu's back. Grey stood back to back with Natsu as he gave his own words.

"Don't get cocky flame breath." Grey cooly said as he brought his fist to his palm. He used his Ice-make magic to summon spears that struck three phantom lord mages. One mage dodged an ice made spear from the stripping mage, but he wasn't able to dodge a fist by the only Strauss male, Elfman.

"Yeah! I'm a real man!" Elfman screamed as he targeted more mages. He laughed out as he grabbed a mage and threw him toward a bigger crowd.

"We can't lose!" Natsu said as he saw Erza defeating her 40th mage without touching them, until a weird beam of magic hit her. Natsu turned to see a strange mage with a white cloak and a mask that appeared to be blank. He wanted to help, but he had to jump back to dodge a giant iron pillar crashing before him.

"I think your fight is with me, Salamander." Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer said with a arrogant smirk. Natsu gritted his teeth in anger as he saw the man responsible for the whole guild war. He gave one last glance at Erza, before turning back toward the iron dragon slayer.

(Erza)

That was not a normal spell. She instantly felt weak on her feet and a feeling of sickness run down her body. She glared at the man who did this to her, only to find a heavily cloaked man with a white mask.

"Who are you?" Erza demanded more than asking as she clenched the bladeless sword hilt. The man finally let out a noise as in the form of a deep laughter. Erza glared deeper at the cloaked figure until he stopped laughing and said his first words in the same deep tone.

"... I was fairly disappointed you were unable to dodge my spell." He gave a knowing glance behind his mask as he said the next thing. "The Blind Blade would have been able to see my attack from a mile away."

Her eyes widen from the sudden words escaping the mysterious man's lips before it changed back to an intense glare. The cloaked figure laughed at Erza's facial expression he foresaw.

"Oh, I dearly apologize for my words. It slipped my mind that his name was taboo around your guild and especially toward his former fiancè." The man instantly jumped back as several tables and chairs were cut down to pieces. He landed gracefully on another table as he gave more of his opinion. "You were too slow right there. Blind Blade would have not missed."

"Stop comparing me to him!" Erza gritted through her teeth as she continued her intense glare. Erza disappeared in great speed as she appeared in front of him. Her eyes glaring deeply at his mask, before attacking him with an attack unseen by a human's eye.

"Silent Piercer"

Erza was able to land her strike this time, but what happened next surprised her. The spots where she was hit turned to a dark smoke before he turned to it as well. The black smoke quickly surrounded Erza, trapping her in it's clutches. Last thing Erza was able to hear was the shouts of some of her guildmates as the last light of the outside world faded away.

"Of course I can not compare you to him, he is strong compared to you." His voice resonated around her, causing her to stay on guard.

"Do not underestimate me!" She screamed out before she took a stance and inhaled strongly. A silver colored magic circle appeared under her as she brought the sword hilt close to her head.

"Widespread Silent Destruction."

She summoned her deadly spell that caused her to become heavily fatigued. Her Nexus Armor disappeared right after she called her spell, but she ignored her change of attire as she watched the pointless outcome of her spell. The smoke was still there after the deadly wide ranged attack. She gritted her teeth as she continued to hear the deep laughter coming from her surroundings.

"Was that your strongest attack Titania? If it was, I am deeply disappointed in the outcome." His deep voice said as his body began to reform in front of him. Erza tried to stand up and attack him, but a deep pressure befallen upon her. Her eyes widened by the deep pressure she was feeling, until she heard the cloaked figure speak.

"Such a weak pathetic girl... Unable to handle power the Blind Blade would surely brush off." He taunted the kneeling Erza. She desperately tried to stand up, but fell back down by the immense pressure. "You can quit resisting weakling, you don't have the power to fight me."

Erza again tried to stand up and was able to get back on her knees. She brought one foot on the earth to push herself off the floor, but again she fell back down.

"You are persistent you weak woman; you can not defy me without power." He kept taunting as he saw Erza try to stand up again.

She gritted her teeth as she tried to fight through the extreme pressure around her. She came up on her knees again as she brought one foot out again. She was now on her both legs, but this time in a crouching stance. He looked on with some marvel as he saw her persistence. She screamed as she desperately tried to stand up and was finally able to get halfway up. She took one heavy step forward as she used pure willpower to stay on her feet this time.

"...I" Erza began to say as she took another step toward the cloaked figure.

"Am..." Another step forward as her cold eyes stared at him.

"Not!" Erza said out loud and appeared she was still not finished with her words, but fell down in front of him, ending what she was saying. The cloaked figure stared down at Erza as he crouched down and grabbed her hair, forcefully making her look at the masked man.

"Your persistence can only take you so far Titania. You won't be able to kill him if you don't have the power." The cloaked figure looked up for a second before sticking his free hand out. A purple colored orb appeared in his hands as he held it in front of her. "It seems our time here is done."

He motioned toward the sphere before him as he continued. "This sphere here is what you desire most Titania, this sphere contains the power you desire. I will give this to you and you will do as you please." He said before the smoke and him began to vanish. Erza stared at the figure and tried to say something before he disappeared, but was taken out of her concentration from a loud crashing sound. She looked toward the location of the crashing to find her master sick on the floor. She looked at the people surrounding him to see the morale on both sides change. Fairy Tail morale began to diminish as Phantom Lord regained what it lost.

'We can't win like this.' Erza thought before she ran toward her master. She turned toward the rest of her guild as she screamed her orders.

"Retreat!' Erza said as the guild wanted to question her decision, but a stern glare told them not to question her decision. Erza grabbed Makarov and took a glance at the ball in her hand. She didn't trust that man, but she was sure leaving it here was not a good idea. She stored the mysterious orb inside her pocket dimension before retreating with everyone else, not realizing Natsu has ran out somewhere.

'Who was that man…' thought Erza once before following the other guild members.

(Naruto)

"So brat, when are you going to split from that geezer you call a master…" Jiraiya asked his employer, as he sat next to him in a ramen stand. Naruto was silently eating his sixth bowl of ramen when he heard Jiraiya speak after the awkward moment of silence. He finished slurping his ramen as he answered Jiraiya.

"You can't judge him, you both are practically the same age." Naruto said as he prepared to go back to his bowl of ramen when he was slapped behind the head.

"I'm not that old you brat!" Jiraiya said to Naruto as he rubbed his head. "So why don't you answer my question."

Naruto was about to answer his question when he felt a familiar signature entering the town he resided in. He stood up from the stool and set some cash on the counter. Jiraiya looked confused, but Naruto gave him a stare.

"Oi, it would be better if we split ways Ero-sennin, I don't want people to know you work for me." Naruto said as he prepared to leave, but told Jiraiya one last thing. "My reason for staying with my master is the same reason you work for me, gratitude."

Naruto walked out of the ramen stand as he walked toward the familiar magic signature he felt. He walked for a while until he found an angry blond haired mage with a huge blush appearing on his glared daggers toward the calm Naruto as he began to feel the deep tension. Naruto decided to get rid of the tension as he gave a lazy wave toward Laxus. "Yo, what's up Laxi-kun. Hope you aren't mad at me for sending you to the women's side of a hot springs."

"I did because your obsession with me has started to become unhealthy."

"Hehe you really enjoy pissing me off!" Laxus said as lightning began to spark around him. Naruto gave a confused look as he pointed at Laxus in accusing manner.

"I'm pissing you off! You been stalking me since we first met!" Naruto said, but had to jump away when a stray lightning bolt nearly hit him. Naruto sighed in annoyance as he took out a katana. "And you respond with violence... this is why we are never going to work."

Laxus started to summon more of his magic and let it surround him as he began to say what he is going to do. "I am going to make you regret your very existence Naruto Uzumaki. Make you quiver in fear by my mere presence, beg for mercy by my immense power, going to-"

Laxus was unable to finish when he began hearing a ringing coming from his jacket. Naruto pointed at his jacket as he motioned for him to answer. "You should probably answer that Laxi-kun, it may be important."

Laxus gritted his teeth as he took out his lacrima. The communication lacrima was only for emergencies and the mere presence of Naruto Uzumaki can not distract him. He activated the Lacrima and screamed at the person who dared tried to call him. "WHAT!"

(Mira)

"Laxus, master is seriously wounded and we cannot find Mystogan, you're our only hope…" Mirajane said with a sad expression. Laxus looked lazily and the lacrima and gave his answer.

"Huh?"

"Laxus please come back, it is an emergency." Mirajane said a little desperately as Cana drank behind her.

"Serve that geezer right! Hahaha!" He gave a smirk as he continued to speak. "It doesn't concern me so take care of it yourselves!"

"Oh so gramps lost after all." Mirajane heard a familiar voice. Laxus gritted his teeth as he turned to the left and screamed.

"Shut up traitor! I'll deal with you after I'm done talking!" Laxus eyes widened when Naruto was no longer there and instead to his right with the lacrima on his hands.

"N-Naruto.." Mirajane said loud enough that everyone in the guild turned to the communication lacrima. Naruto smirked through the image as he gave short whistle when he saw Mira.

"Damn Mira-chan, you still look as beautiful as the last time I saw you." Naruto said as jumped away when Laxus tried to strike him. Naruto sighed as he summoned some clones to keep Laxus busy while he had a small reunion. "And you too Cana, looking sexy as always."

"So the old man leads you to fight Phantom Lord and you end up losing, quite sad actually." Naruto said as he gave Mira a smirk.

"So where's my fiance, she hurt too?" Naruto said in a taunting manner before said woman walked passed the injured guild members with only a towel tightly clinging around her curves. Naruto gave her a smile as Erza stood in front of the communication lacrima.

"Erza…" Mirajane whispered in a low tone, worried how Erza would react. Erza calmly stared at the image of her former lover, as Naruto gave a long gaze at Erza.

"You finally awake sleeping beauty and decide to get me jealous by wearing just a towel around the guild." Naruto said again, with Erza keeping her calm composure. Naruto stopped his taunting as he gazed at Erza in a more serious manner. "Last time I saw you, you were running around screaming you were going to kill me. Why so serious this time?"

"I'm still going to kill you Naruto Uzumaki, but I am not going to do the way you want me to…" Erza said calmly before doing something that got everyone and Naruto surprised. She brought her hand forward and summoned a blade in the other. She slit her palm with the blade she was holding and let the blood freely fall. "I swear that I will kill you not only for me, but to restore Fairy Tail's honor and that of our daughter."

"Don't you dare say her name! You lost that right the day you let her be murdered!" Naruto said in anger, forgetting his taunting and laidback attitude. He glared in anger at Erza as she responded back with the calm facial expression. They wished to say more to each other, but a tremor occurred that got the attention of everyone present. Everyone ran outside, leaving Erza alone for a second before she gave Naruto something that completely pissed him off, a simple smile. Erza ran out, following the rest of her guild. The image of Naruto was disrupted mainly due to Naruto smashing the lacrima itself.

Erza stared at the giant guild building, walking toward their guild. It stopped as the front of the guild open and out came a cannon. 'Kushina, I believe Naruto and I would have been able to give you a happy life if you were here…'

Erza ran in front of the guild, toward the shouts of protest from some members. 'I don't know if I would have been a good mother, but I know Naruto would have been a great father.'

She discarded her towel as she summoned her strongest defensive armor, The Adamantine Armor. 'He acted like a pervert and liked to get in fights, but you would have seen the kind and genuine side of him that I was able to…'

As the moving building prepared to shoot the Jupiter Cannon, Erza smiled before she prepared to take the full blast head on. 'Don't worry though honey, I will give your father redemption soon and you will be able to see him again..'

End

Alright I want to apologize to anyone who enjoyed reading my other stories because they will be arriving in a slower pace. I will try to release the newest chapters for "Forgotten Fairy" and "Sleeping Dragon within a Weak Fairy" soon though.

Please review, I appreciate all reviews and read all of them to improve every chapter.